Noah stared at the two won, his mind racing to process Sophie's words.
"What deal?" he asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
Lila's perfect smile twisted into sothing challenging. "What deal? The one where Sophie would keep her mouth shut just to see mommy?"
Sophie's face paled, then flushed with anger.
"Both of you. Inside. Now." Noah's voice carried the commanding tone. His stance widened slightly, blocking the corridor as he gestured toward his room.
Lila brushed past him with a smirk, sauntering into the room like she owned it. After a mont, Sophie followed, keeping as much distance from Lila as the small space would allow.
Noah closed the door and turned to face them. "I want the truth. All of it."
Sophie sighed deeply, leaning against Kelvin's desk. "It started months ago, before the tournant. Lila confronted , told to back off, that I wasn't good enough for you." Her eyes t Noah's. "We were already together then."
"I rember," Noah said quietly.
"What Sophie's not telling you," Lila interjected, perching elegantly on Noah's bed, "is that she already knew about us. And about ."
Noah's eyes narrowed. "Knew what about you?"
"That I'm Purge," Lila said casually, as if discussing the weather. "Your girlfriend did her howork."
Noah turned to Sophie, confusion evident in his expression. "You knew? Before I told you?"
Sophie nodded slowly. "I did research. After I noticed how you two were... How she was getting close. I found connections. Evidence."
'Sophie knew about Lila being Purge before I did,' Noah thought, pieces clicking together. 'And when I finally told her, thinking I was protecting her...'
"So when I ca to you about Lila, about the attack..."
"I already knew," Sophie admitted. "I was hoping you were coming to tell you were going to expose her."
The mory of their argunt flashed in Noah's mind—Sophie's insistence that they report Lila imdiately, his refusal, his defense of Lila because she had "trusted him" with the truth.
"You were testing ," Noah realized, his voice hardening. "And I failed because I wanted to protect her."
"I wanted to see where your loyalties lay," Sophie's voice remained steady. "And you made your choice clear."
Lila laughed, the sound sharp and clear. "How noble of you, Sophie. Except you're leaving out the best part."
Sophie's jaw tightened.
"Tell him," Lila goaded. "Tell him why you didn't expose yourself."
Noah crossed his arms, waiting.
Sophie straightened her posture, eting his gaze directly. "I threatened to expose Lila as Purge. But she countered with information I wasn't prepared for."
"That your precious mother is one of us," Lila finished with a triumphant smile. "The defense minister's wife, abandoning her family to join what most people believe is a terrorist myth. Imagine the scandal."
Noah's mind raced. 'Sophie had ntioned her mother left when she was young joining the Purge. It's sothing we both didn't believe to be true. Now ...'
"But that wasn't all," Sophie continued, her voice steady despite the emotion in her eyes. "She told there would be an attack at the tournant finals. And that my mother would be there."
"So you kept quiet to see your mother," Noah said, the pieces falling into place. "Even knowing about the attack."
"I told my father," Sophie replied sharply. "Have you noticed how unusually tight security is this year? How many more soldiers are stationed around the arena? That's because of ."
Noah frowned, rembering Lucas ntioning the heightened security when they'd first arrived at the arena.
"Oh please," Lila rolled her eyes dramatically. "You inford daddy but made sure he kept it quiet enough not to scare off mommy dearest. How convenient."
"I made sure people would be protected," Sophie shot back.
"By keeping the soldiers in the dark about what they're really facing?" Noah asked, his tactical mind engaging. "Do they even know what to look for? Who to target?"
Sophie hesitated. "My father... didn't want to cause panic."
"Or didn't want to admit his wife is a terrorist," Lila added.
Noah paced the small room, mind analyzing the situation from all angles. 'This connects to what Kelvin found. Antoine Gregor's escape, the headmasters making paynts...'
"Antoine Gregor," Noah said suddenly. "Kelvin said he was scheduled for transport here, to et with Minister Reign—your father." He looked at Sophie. "But he escaped. Was this all about your mother from the beginning?"
"I didn't know about Gregor's transfer," Sophie insisted. "But my father... he's been looking for my mother for years. If he knew she might appear at the finals..."
"And anwhile," Noah turned to Lila, "you told about the attack, nullifying whatever leverage Sophie's silence gave you. Why?"
Lila's smile remained, but sothing flashed in her eyes. "Insurance. I needed to know where you stood."
"So you were both testing ," Noah's voice was ice. "Both playing gas."
"Don't compare us," Sophie said, an edge in her voice. "I was trying to protect people while finding my mother. She's been manipulating you from the start."
"And you haven't?" Lila challenged. "Little Miss Perfect pretending she didn't know about , watching Noah squirm as he tried to 'break the news' about his affair with a Purge mber?"
"Enough!" Noah's voice cut through their argunt, commanding and resolute. "This stops now. Both of you have been using as a pawn in whatever ga you're playing."
He turned to Lila. "You used Sophie's mother as leverage, then turned around and told about the attack anyway, making her silence worthless. You've been manipulating both of us."
Lila's eyes narrowed, but she didn't deny it.
Noah turned to Sophie. "And you kept vital information from —about Lila, about your mother, about what you really knew. You let defend Lila to you, knowing everything already, just to test where my loyalties were."
"I needed to know," Sophie said quietly.
"And now I need to know sothing," Noah stepped into the center of the room, his presence filling the space. "The attack at the finals—what exactly is planned? Who's involved?"
Lila sighed, looking genuinely conflicted for the first ti. "I don't know all the details. Even if I did, you know how hard it is for to tell you. I can only reiterate what you already know. I'm not high-ranking enough for one. I know there's going to be a demonstration, but I don't know exactly what form it will take."
"A demonstration of what?" Noah pressed.
"Of the truth about the Harbingers," Lila said carefully. "About what the academies are really training you for."
"Which is what?" Sophie asked, her voice steady.
Lila shook her head. "I don't have all the pieces. I just know what I've been told—that the public narrative about the Harbingers is incomplete, that the academies are preparing for sothing they're not telling the cadets about."
Noah studied her face, trying to discern truth from deception. "And Sophie's mother? Why did she join?"
"That's her story to tell," Lila replied simply. "If Sophie gets to see her."
Sophie stepped forward. "If you know sothing about my mother—"
"What I know is that she made a choice," Lila said, less harshly than before. "Maybe for right reasons, maybe for wrong ones. But it was her choice to make."
"Here's what's going to happen," Noah said, his voice carrying the calm authority. "First, we're going to stop the lying. All of us."
He looked pointedly at Lila. "You're going to tell everything you do know about this demonstration, even if it's not the full picture."
"And why should I do that?" Lila challenged, though sothing in her expression had softened slightly.
"Because whatever your endga is, it now involves ," Noah said confidently. "Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered with all of this. The chi technique, the confession about being Purge—you've been grooming for sothing."
Lila hesitated, then nodded. "You're special to , Noah. More than you know. That's why I approached you in the first place."
"And you," he turned to Sophie, "are going to tell everything you know about your mother's disappearance, about what your father knows."
Sophie t his gaze steadily. "I've told you what I know. My mother left when I was young. For years, my father told she died on a classified mission. It wasn't until I was accepted to the academy that he finally admitted she had chosen to leave—that she had joined so kind of resistance movent. He never specified the Purge, but..." She glanced at Lila. "The pieces fit."
Noah nodded, processing this. "I care about both of you," he admitted, his voice softening slightly. "But I'm done being played. From now on, we deal in truth, or we don't deal at all."
"Truth is a luxury," Lila said, but there was a new respect in her eyes.
"Maybe so," Sophie interjected, her composure highlighting her three years of academy experience. "But without it, we have nothing. No trust, no real connection." She looked directly at Noah. "And I think we all know where trust matters most in battle."
Lila's smile returned, but it was smaller, more genuine. "Isn't this cute?" She had an almost manic smile on her.
"The finals are days away," Noah said. "Whatever's going to happen, we need to be prepared."
"I'll tell you what I know," Lila offered, surprising both of them. "Not everything—I can't. But enough to help."
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden cooperation?"
"Because contrary to what you believe, I'm not the villain in this story," Lila replied. "I've made my choices for reasons you don't understand yet, but they're not evil ones." She looked at Noah. "And because he deserves better than to be caught in the crossfire of sothing he doesn't understand."
Noah studied the two won—Sophie, from all she'd said, she was proving why she was the defense Minister's daughter. She was composed and strategic, her loyalty clear despite her tests; and Lila, complex and mysterious, her motives still unclear but not entirely selfish.
"I need to talk to Kelvin," he decided. "Compare what we know, see what else he's uncovered about the headmasters and their paynts."
"Be careful who you trust," Lila warned, moving toward the door. "Not everyone at the academy is who they seem."
"Including you?" Noah challenged.
Lila smiled, the familiar expression settling back on her face. "I never pretended to be simple, love. That's part of my charm." She paused at the door. "Think about what I've said. And just know, nothing has changed. My promise still stands. I'll do everything to protect you,"
With that, she slipped out, leaving Noah and Sophie alone.
After a mont of silence, Sophie spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I knew. I thought... I thought I was protecting you."
"We've all made mistakes," Noah admitted. "But from now on, no more secrets."
Sophie nodded, then looked up at him with determined eyes. "Noah, whatever Lila's planning, whatever this demonstration is... we need to be careful. The Purge believes in the Harbingers, but they have their own agenda."
"And your mother? Do you still want to see her?"
"I need to see her," Sophie's voice was firm. "I need answers about why she left us. Why she chose the Purge over her own family."
Noah took her hand. "Then we'll make sure you get those answers. Together."
Sophie studied his face. "And Lila? Where does she fit in this 'together'?"
"I don't know yet," Noah answered honestly. "But I do know that between the two of you, I know where I stand with you. You've been honest about your deception, at least."
Sophie's lips curved in a small, satisfied smile. "Good. Because unlike Lila, I'm not playing a role. I actually care about you, Noah,"
As Sophie moved to leave, she paused at the door. "My father has access to classified files the academies don't. If you want to know more about the Purge, about what they might be planning... I can help you look."
"Thank you," Noah said.
"But Noah?" Sophie's eyes held his, her gaze intense and sincere. "When this is all over, when the truth cos out... rember who was by your side from the beginning, not who appeared when things got interesting." With that final statent, she slipped out, leaving Noah alone with his thoughts.
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